


Swiffer Guy

by twobirdsonesong



Category: CrissColfer - Fandom, Glee RPF
Genre: 90s, Alternate Universe, Drabble, First Meetings, Fluff, M/M, Shopping Malls, you know Darren would have worked at a Radio Shack if he'd ever had to hold a job as a teenager
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-01
Updated: 2015-02-01
Packaged: 2018-03-09 22:42:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3267053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twobirdsonesong/pseuds/twobirdsonesong
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Late90s AU where Chris and Darren both work in a mall selling stuff. That's it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Swiffer Guy

The guy looks bored, a little nervous, and incredibly cute standing outside the Kitchen n' Things of the local mall in his pressed khakis and lime green shirt.

 

Darren notices him because he's taking his usual walk around the mall for the first break of his shift, where he gets something from Orange Julius and breathes in fifteen minutes away from people who don't understand that just because a Discman is labeled as "anti-skip" it doesn't mean they can just throw it around like it's indestructible.

 

The guy in the atrocious green shirt is standing at a product display holding something that looks sort of like it could be a mop if someone completely changed what the head of a mop was supposed to look like.  He's got a table with pamphlets, a brightly colored backdrop proclaiming the joys and wonders of the new  _Swiffer_ , and samples of different kind of flooring at his feet.  He's wearing the new Doc Martens though, so Darren figures he can't be all bad, even if he is selling a mop.

 

Darren pauses by the fountain in the middle of the mall, slurping on his smoothie, and watches the guy surreptitiously check his watch.  Darren feels bad; it's only 11:15 and the mall opened at 9am, so there's no way this guy is nearing the end of his shift.  Darren knows what that's like.

 

A woman in a red coat and purple hat approaches the display and Darren watches as Swiffer Guy perks up, his whole face shifting into something far less bored and far more salesman.  Darren winces; he's got to hawk products to people all day, but at least he gets to do inside the safety of a store and not the middle of the mall where he has to get people's attention and keep it.  But the woman just passes by, shaking her head, and Swiffer Guy visibly deflates.  Darren knows what it's like to not like your job, but still wanting to be busy because nothing is worse than abject boredom.

 

Darren's own watch beeps the end of his break and he sighs, but he takes one last long, lingering look at the guy in the awful lime green shirt before he trudges back to work.

***

Swiffer Guy isn't there the next day, which Darren knows because he's sure to go back to the same spot at the same time, but he is there the day after and Darren assumes this is just a part-time job for him.  He looks like he could be in college too, like Darren is, but his pink cheeks and floppy hair make him seem younger.

 

He's got a customer this time, a younger woman in heels who looks like the last thing she wants to do is clean.  Darren watches Swiffer Guy pour some liquid onto the tile floor sample and quickly and efficiently mop it up in two swipes.  Even from where Darren is standing he can tell the woman is intrigued.  It only takes another demonstration with a scuff mark on hardwood before the woman is writing a check.  Swiffer Guy looks immensely proud and Darren can't stop smiling.

 

Darren likes him.  He's tall, he's cute, and Darren totally saw the intense side-eye Swiffer Guy gave to the guy coming out of the Borders who was wearing American flag Zumbas.

 

He's going to have to do something about this.

***

Darren is munching on his giant pretzel from Annie's that he only gets on Fridays and lurking around the fountain for the best vantage point when Swiffer Guy looks up and meets Darren's gaze from across the way.

 

Swiffer Guy cocks his head to the side curiously and Darren feels himself blushing a furious red at getting caught.  He considers turning and running back to work before the end of his break, or even diving into the fountain, but then he figures, what the hell?  He might as well go say hi before this guy tells him off for being a creep.

 

Darren throws his empty smoothie cup into the trash as he shuffles over to Swiffer Guy and his display stand.  Closer, his eyes are blue and his features are fine and the name tag on his shirt says " _Chris_."

 

"Are you interested in the best new cleaning product on the market?" The guy, Chris, asks, one eyebrow cocked in what feels like sarcasm and slight trepidation.

 

Darren frowns. "What? No."

 

"Then why are you lurking around me?"

 

"I'm not lurking," Darren protests and he can feel the back of his neck heating up.

 

Chris rolls his eyes. "You've been hovering by that fountain all week."

 

"I'm on break and it's public space."

 

"Uh-uh."

 

"It's true!"

 

"Where do you work?"

 

Darren jerks his head to the side.  "The Radio Shack," he says and Chris smirks.

 

"Oh so  _you're_  the guy selling those stupid Discman's that skip every 30-second."

 

"Hey," Darren laughs, holding his hands up.  "You're not supposed to throw them around."

 

Chris shrugs teasingly and Darren is already lost.  "If it says anti-skip I expect it to be anti-skip."

 

"I hear Apple is coming out with a new music player that'll hold like, hundreds of songs."

 

"Bet that's gonna be expensive," Chris responds and Darren is just staring at his mouth.

 

"Yeah," Darren trails off.  Chris' cheeks are pinked up and he's smiling down at his shoes and Darren has never wanted to ask someone out more in his life.

 

"So..when is your break?" He asks quickly, because the worst Chris can say is  _no_.  "I mean, this place  _sucks,_  but it has a pretty kick-ass food court at the other end.  Can I take you there sometime?"

 

Darren holds still as Chris' gaze rakes searchingly across his face.  He hopes he doesn't have any bits of pretzel left around his mouth or anything.

 

"Sure," Chris says finally and Darren exhales.  "I'd like that."

 

"Awesome. Ok, today?"

 

Chris nods.  "Yeah, my lunch is at 1:30."

 

Darren bounces on his toes a little.  "Perfect.  I'll meet you here? Just, leave the mop, okay?"

 

Darren laughs and steps away as Chris pokes him in the knee with the end of the mop.  He's not sure where this might go, but he's pretty sure when they get married he's going to have the best story to tell at the reception.


End file.
